Intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces raged in the devastated town of Bakhmut on April 15 as the death toll from a Russian strike in nearby Slovyansk climbed to 11. Russian forces have been besieging Bakhmut in the Donetsk region of Ukraine for months, making only incremental progress at an enormous cost of human life. The spokesman for the eastern military command, Serhiy Cherevatiy described the fighting in the city center as unprecedented and there had been 17 clashes with Russian troops over the past 24 hours.
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Gas station explosion injures dozens in Russia’s Dagestan region
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a fire caused an explosion at a gas station in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan. Russia’s emergency situations ministry said the blaze started at a car repair shop on Monday night then spread to the nearby fuel station on the outskirts of Dagestan’s capital of Makhachkal.
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Kazakhstan’s Parliamentary Election will be held on March 19
Kazakhstan will elect members of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies on March 19. New names will surely appear in the legislative branch, while up to 50 percent of the country’s local representative offices are expected to have new members. Thirty-nine percent of the self-nominated candidates are women and young people. The vote will be held according to the new rules adopted following last year’s constitutional amendments.
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The Queen of the North Goes South
The Queen of the North Goes South Has Dr. Rania Majeed, Prime Minister Barzani’s gatekeeper and close personal confidante, royally destroyed the Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) primary source of income – its lucrative oil contracts? Majeed, who is known inside of KRG and among government insiders as the “untouchable” and – according to the article KRG oil in control of three women – fiercely loyal right hand to Barzani reportedly manages relationships and highest priority objectives on Barzani’s political and personal agendas. Based on the importance of these contracts to the KRG’s financial stability, Majeed likely played an instrumental role in the recent negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil.
